The Solo Leveling video game makes you feel like Jinwoo — then the grind kicks in

[Ed. note: This review contains minor spoilers for Solo Leveling anime.]

From the moment the demo for Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive recreates JinWoo’s Awakening from the manhwa and anime, it’s clear the team at Netmarble Neo is doing everything it can to make players feel like the iconic protagonist. And in some ways, the game — to be released in full by fall 2025 on PC — succeeds. The action at first glance is satisfying, the combat is flashy and responsive, and the RPG mechanics are rooted in the anime’s lore, especially JinWoo’s signature “level up” ability.

Still, despite the gameplay loop, something about the overall package feels hollow. There are hints at greater potential, like upgrading JinWoo’s Shadow Army or unlocking his Monarch transformation (spoiler warning for anime-only fans), but most of that is locked off in the demo. And while multiplayer could add replayability, what’s available now seems more like busywork than meaningful progression. 

The barebones approach to the title isn’t even the worst part: it’s navigating the menu UI that’s the most frustrating. It’s way easier to navigate menus using a mouse than a controller, despite controller being the best way to play the game. It wasn’t until I played more and did some research that I realized some fans believe Overdrive is actually a revamped port of the 2024 mobile gacha game Solo Leveling: Arise, dressed up and stripped of its gacha monetization in service of adding co-op multiplayer. In Arise, Netmarble limits level-up progression for free-to-play users and prices folks out of premium equipment with an outlandish bottleneck, the higher your overall level is. This is to entice players to subscribe and earn free resources in order to hit levels and unlock new characters. 

Despite Netmarble ensuring us “Solo Leveling: ARISE – OVERDRIVE is a brand new title separate from Solo Leveling: ARISE and not an expansion, update, or port of the previous game,” it sure as hell feels like a port. It looks like it’s reusing the same assets, some cutscenes, and overall UI. But without those original features implemented, Overdrive sinks into repetitive grind, no matter how much it makes you feel like Jinwoo in the moment. 

The core mechanics are steeped in series-specific detail. Players can level up JinWoo after battles, build out a loadout of weapons and skills pulled from or inspired by the franchise, and use loot from enemies to craft gear and enhance equipment called Artifacts. Combat evokes Dynasty Warriors with added flair: a dodge-and-counter system adds tactical rhythm, while quick time events and ultimates inject cinematic flash. There’s a laundry list of attacks and skills you can choose from and equip to try in combat, allowing players to tailor JinWoo to their playstyles: various moves reminiscent of the show, QTE attacks, basic attacks, an ultimate skill with varying cooldowns, and assist-based combat too, letting you recruit three familiar Hunters mid-fight. 

JinWoo can also switch between four classes: Assassin, Duelist, Elementalist, and Ruler, which reflect his progression across seasons 1 and 2 of the anime (though Elementalist’s magic attacks feel off-brand). Each class has its own skill tree, and Blessing Stones provide stat boosts and perks like emergency HP revives. Weapons, Artifacts, and even your Shadow Army can be leveled independently, offering a deeper layer of progression than expected. 

But while all these systems suggest depth, it’s mostly surface level. After a few solid dungeon crawls, Jinwoo was able to seamlessly use abilities, QTEs, our team of Hunters, and switch between weapons on the fly. Despite the fun gameplay loop and truly feeling like an iteration of Jinwoo from season 1, the button-mashing combat felt unfulfilling and unpolished despite the multitude of level-up mechanics, skill trees, and list of abilities.

Some of JinWoo’s weapons include guns, bows, and the aforementioned magic and sickles, despite never using any of these powers in the series. Environments are very big and lifeless, with not too many differentiating rooms or dungeons. Enemies get progressively stronger as you take down more dungeons, but the difficulty spike isn’t too rough once you learn boss attack patterns. Familiar characters are present but void of personality, contributing flavorless NPC lines. After you get a handle on all the mechanics and level-up systems, you realize the total package is very barebones and without much substance. 

Unfortunately, without a monetization loop, what’s left is a game that replaces manufactured stopgaps with a repetitive grind, which isn’t much better. The game delivers the Solo Leveling experience — just maybe not enough of anything else.